The journey of Lego Builder, today with the Apple Arcade, is a voice that is a far cry from the usual lighthearted and endearing video games of Lebogo. It's a quiet and thoughtful puzzle game that tells us over and over the father myth of a son who discovers the importance of play. It's a well-made toy sale that strikes me directly to my father's pirates.
Am I playing enough with my children? Do I take time out of my busy writing and playbook to sit down and actually interact with them? Or do I start playing with them, and leave them for the sake of my work, leading to them building a Lego robot to accompany them in a thought-provoking puzzle-solving journey? These are questions The journey of Lego Builder it goes up as players continue screen after screen of building puzzles. As someone who is accustomed to minifigure and Lego lamps until the parts of their body break apart, it is a strange but unpleasant way to play.
Each puzzle is a Lego degree. First, the player is tasked with using Lego bricks to help create a way for the son's character to reach the father's character. To help a boy measure a rock, one must build bridges or stairs. To cross a pool of heated mud, pieces such as steps should be moved quickly, lest they fall into the mud. Brick molding is simple and precise, and the connecting pieces result in a satisfying click of Lego.
The puzzle in The journey of Lego Builder start simply. In the early stages it is obvious where the piece needs to be placed in order for the child to continue. As the game progresses, players gain more freedom to interpret and solve each puzzle in their own ways. At the level pictured below, water absorbs random bricks throughout the screen. The player can pick them up, or release them. The goal is to create a ramp from where the baby character sits on the top left of the square panel on the bottom right. How a player arrives is entirely up to them.
This is a classic Lego game I hope my kids get involved in if they ever find it like cracking in a 40-pound container of Lego bricks that I have kept for them since they were born. (I like to plan ahead.) I want them to have choices. I want them to use their thoughts. I want them to give me an excuse to buy more Legos.
The journey of Lego Builder is the first game from Lego's new home improvement studio Light Brick. Even though I'm enjoying the licensed Lego games now, it's nice to see the developer take the toys in the way forward imagined.
